Delia k



(No Model.)

D. K. HAWLBY. AUTOMATIC LIGHTER.

Patented Apr. 5,1898.

W/ffi sea. 1320672257 longer needed.

NITED STATES.

FFICE.

PATENT DELIA K. HAWLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE RATHBUN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC LIGHTER:

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 602,045, dated April 5, 1898.

Application filed September 17,1897; Serial No. 651,971. (No model.)

To all whom. it may concern..-

Be it known that I, DELIA K. HAWLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and'useful Improvements in Automatic Lighters, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

. My invention relates to automatic lighters of that class in which the fulminate or other ignitible heads, which for the sakeof convenience I shall hereinafter term matches, are arranged in a box or receptacle and caused to ignite as they are automatically forced therefrom by a suitable ejector, and it has more especial reference to that species of such class in which a plurality of the matches are secured to a continuous strip.

My invention has for its primary object to provide an improved construction of automatic lighter in which a large supply of the matches may be contained and when desired simultaneously ejected and ignited and While burning held in a convenient position for use.

A further object of my invention is to automatically sever the burned match from the remaining unburned strip as the ejector is Withdrawn; and a still further object is to provide, in connection with an automatic lighter, a plurality of matches, each consisting of a substantial body portion composed of inflammable material and an igniting portion for setting the latter afire, so constructed and arranged that the burning of one of the body portions will substantially sever or dis; integrate its connection with the remainder of the strip, whereby the burned portion may be readily dislodged when the flame is no With these ends in view my invention consists in certain features of novelty in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts by which the said objects and certain other objects hereinafter appearing are attained, all as fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings. v

. In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved lighter, showing the lid of the box open and the ejector in readiness to force a-match therefrom. Fig. 2 is a similar view, on a smaller scale, showing the lid closed. Fig. 3 ma transverse sectional view taken on the line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detailed detached View of the ejector. Fig. 5 is a detail transverse sectional View taken on the line 5 5, Fig'. 1. sectional view taken on the line 6 6, Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a detail view of the spring-holding dog hereinafter explained; and Fig. 8 is a detail View of a portion of the match-strip, illus trating a certain modification hereinafter explained. v p

In carrying out my invention I employ a Fig. 6 is a longitudinal box 1, which is preferably of just sufficient depth to contain the match-strip 2 when arranged on edge therein in the manner shown in Fig. 1, one end of the box 1 being utilized as a receptacle'in which the match-strip 2 may be folded back and forth in a zigzag form, as illustrated in the drawings, or arranged in any other desired way; but when arranged as shown a large number of the matches may be stored in the box, and the end one may be readily drawn off from one end of the zigzag series by the ejector.withoutdistrubing the others.

material, and arranged at short intervals thereon are a plurality ofmatches, each consisting of a body portion 3, composed of some suitable inflammable material, and an igniting portion 4 for setting the inflammable material on fire. These matches 3 are also, preferably, of substantially the same thickness as the depth of the box 1, whereby the lid of the box when closed will hold them in place and guard against the possibility of the strip becoming twisted.

Arranged to reciprocate along one side of thebox -1 is an ejector 5, which is provided at its upper end with a portion 6, preferably pointed, so as to dig into the matches 3 4 or engage in acavity 7, specially formed in the back of each match, and thus enable theejector to carry the match upward oroutward to the end of the box, as well as hold it in place while being used. i I

In loading the device and making it ready The match-strip 2'may be composed of stout paper or any other suitable flexible spring 8, which tends to hold the upper end of the match against the side of the box 1 and to also retain it in firm contact with the ejector in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1. If now the ejector 5 is forced upwardly or outwardly, theend of the match .3 4 will be forced 1 between an igniting-point 9 and the side of;

the box, and as it passes such igniting-point 9 the latter causes the head 4: to ignite and set the body portion 3 on fire, which by this time has been carried entirely outside of the box by means of the ejector 5, where it is held by the point 6 until consumed. The

the box 1, which, as shown in dot-ted lines in i Fig. 1, is in the form of a spring-tongue 11, 1 bent inwardly, so as to be impinged by the 1 inner portion 10 of the igniter when the latcleared the end of the box, thus enabling ter is deflected, as described, by the match.

By this means the spring-tongue 11 is also forced outwardly and the upper end of the box opened to permit the match to pass out? without compelling the igniting-head of the 1;

match to scrape against the end of the tongue f or any portion of the box.

After the match has passed out clear of the end of the box and F the igniter, the pressure against the spring-f tongue 11 being released, the latter again,

closes in to its normal position between the rear end of the match-body and the igniter, i and as the ejector 5 is withdrawn the upper;

end of the tongue 11 strips the match from the point 6, and in so doing causes the burned match to be dislodged and drop off. When: the ejector reaches the limit of its inward movement, the point 6 thereof will be opposite and engage in the cavity 7 of the next match, which latter is held against moving downwardly with the ejector by means of a The ejector 5 is preferably composed of a flat strip (shown in detail in Fig. 4) having the point 6 formed on one end and a slide 13 bent over one side in such a manner that it may be engaged over the edge of the box 1, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 3, so as to be accessible to the thumb or finger of the user from the outside when the box is closed, the lid of the box being cut away along the line of movement of the slide 13, so as to constitute a slot 14 between the edge of the lid and box, as shown in Fig. 2. When the lid of the box is closed, the ejector will be held against dislodgement by the lid resting against that portion of the ejector which extends below the slide 13.

The guide-spring 8, igniter 9 10, and the holding-dog 12 are preferably formed in one bottom of the box and bearing against a portion of the strip, so as to combine with the tongue 14 in holding it against lateral twisting. The end of thestrip opposite to that on which the igniter 9 is formed is rounded oif from the holding-dog 12, as shown at 16, so as to form a guide for directing the matches up between the ejecting-point 6 and theguidespring 8.

The spring-tongue 11 may be formed by simply leaving the edges of the upper end of the box unsecured. The free end of the tongue 11 is provided with a notch 17, which enables the tongue to close partially around the ejecting-point 6 after the match has such point to be withdrawn without pulling any of the burned match back into the box. Such notch 17 also avoids possibility of damage to the point 6 from being protruded at a time when there are no matches in the box.

The ignition of the head 4c is caused by the igniter 9, which is of pointed form, as shown in Fig. 6, dropping ofi, as it were, from the edge of the head as the latter leaves the point, and to the end that suflicient concussion may be produced for accomplishing this Iprovide the lower side of the head 4 with a cavity 4, into which the point 9 rapidly descends and in doing so scrapes against and ignites the head 4. This cavity 4:, however, is only desirable when the igniting-head 4 is arranged at the upper or outer end of the match-body 3, and is even then merely the equivalent of an abrupt shoulder at the loweredge of the head. When, however, the head t is arranged at the lower end of the match-body 3, the point 9'will drop off the edge with suiiicient rapidity to ignite the head. This opposite arrangement of the head 4: is shown in Fig. 8.

Having thus described. my invention, What I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An automatic lighter having in combination a box or receptacle for containing a strip of connected matches, an ejector for forcing said matches from said box, said box being provided with an opening and a springtongue closing said opening, and an igniter having a portion adapted to bear against and deflect said tongue before the latter is reached by the match, substantially as set forth.

2. An automatic lighter having in combination a box or receptacle for containing a strip of connected matches, an ejector, a flexible guide arranged adjacent to the line of movement of said ejector, a dog arranged at the lower or inner end of said guide for pre- IIO venting retrograde movement of the match, and an igniter arranged at the other end of said guide, substantially as set forth.

3. An automatic lighter having in combination a box or receptacle for containing a strip of connected matches, and being provided. at one end with an opening and a spring-tongue closing said opening, an ejector for forcing said matches through said opening and means for deflecting said tongue and igniting the match before the latter reaches the tongue, substantially as set forth.

4. An automatic lighter having in combination a box or receptacle for containing a number of connected matches, an ejector having a point for ejecting said matches, said box being provided with an opening for the passage of the matches and a spring-tongue for closing said opening and having a notch adapt ed to fit around said point after the match is ejected, and an igniter arranged in the line of movement of the match, substantially as set forth.

5. An'automatic lighter having in combination a box or receptacle,-an ejector arranged against one side thereof-and having a slide 13.

turned over and embracing said side, and a cover to said box fitting against said ejectortion a box or receptacle, an ejector, the igniter 9, guide-spring 8 and spring-dog 12 formed in one piece and secured in said box, substantially as set forth.

8. An automatic lighter having in combination a box or receptacle, an ejector, a springstrip having one end pointed and arranged adjacent to the line of movement of said ejector and constituting an igniter, the-intermediate portion of said strip being doubled backwardly upon itself to form thespringguide 8 adjacent to the line of movement of said ejector and the spring-dog 12 composed of a tongue struck up from said strip and projecting toward said ejector, substantially as set forth.

9. An automatic lighter having in combination a box or receptacle, an ejector, a spring-..

strip bent to form an igniter 9 and guidespring 8, a. tongue struck up fromtlie bottom of said box and passing through said springstrip and the lug 15 struck up from said box and bearing against said strip at another point, substantially as set forth.

10. An automatic lighter having in combination a box or receptacle, an ejector, a strip having one end pointed to form the igniter 9, bent to form theshoulder 10, .doubledback upon itself to form the guide-spring 8 adjacent to the line of movement of the ejector, thedog 12 struck up from said stripand the guide 16 rounded off from said dog,and a spring-tongue forclosing the aperture of, the box arranged adjacent to a part of said strip and adapted to be deflected thereby, substantially as set.

forth. 7

, DELIA K. HAWLEY. WVitnesses? I F. A; HOPKINS,

EDNA B. J oHNsoN. 

